Effects of acute aerobic exercise on neurocognitive and daytime functioning following sleep restriction

Acute sleep loss is associated with elevated fatigue, decreased energy, and impaired cognitive functioning. Acute exercise has shown promise in reducing detriments to daytime functioning following sleep loss. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on neurocognitive function following acute sleep restriction. A secondary aim was to examine the effects of exercise in psychological aspects of daytime functioning, including arousal, fatigue, energy, and sleepiness following acute sleep restriction. Age-and sex-matched participants (N = 56; M_age = 21.8 ± 2.5 years) were randomly assigned to an exercise or control (i.e., seated rest) condition. Following an acute 4-hour sleep restriction protocol, participants completed an oddball paradigm with concurrent electroencephalographic (EEG) recording before and after exercise or seated rest. P3 amplitude and latency, response accuracy and reaction time (RT), arousal, sleepiness, energy, and fatigue were assessed. No significant P3 or behavioral performance differences were observed by condition. The exercise group reported increased daytime functioning, as reflected by increased energy (Cohen's d = 0.69) and arousal (Cohen's d = 0.94) and decreased fatigue (Cohen's d = -0.79) and sleepiness (Cohen's d = -0.95) compared to the control group. Findings indicate that a single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise following acute sleep restriction enhances psychological aspects of daytime functioning, while no changes in neurocognitive function were observed. The null neurocognitive result should be interpreted with caution, as it may reflect the limited cognitive demand of the oddball task or insufficient statistical power to detect small effects rather than a true absence of exercise-related benefit.